El Salvador Perspectives

CAFTA goes into effect in Guatemala today. Guatemala joins Honduras, Nicaragua and El Salvador as countries where the free trade agreement with the US is fully in effect. The Dominican Republic has not yet adopted implementing legislation and Costa Rica's legislature has not ratified the treaty. The delay by other countries in implementing the treaty has hurt El Salvador as this article from the Dallas Morning News pointed out: Apparel with thread or other materials from countries not yet certified to participate in CAFTA, such as Guatemala, faces hefty duties upon entering the United States – even if they contain U.S.-made fabric and were sewn in a CAFTA country. In one example, the average duty on apparel from El Salvador suddenly jumped to 14 percent in March from 5 percent in February, according to the American Apparel & Footwear Association. The reason: In March, more of the garments contained materials from countries not yet operating under CAFTA rules, subjecting th...

There are two ways I could start this post: El Salvador's refusal to ratify international conventions on labor rights cost 600 Salvadoran workers their jobs. or The European Union, using trade as leverage to try and protect Salvadoran workers, actually caused the firing of more that 600 workers in the country. You decide. Here are the facts: The Spanish company Grupo Calvo , terminated the jobs of 600 workers on Monday at its tuna processing plant in Punta Gorda, in the eastern part of El Salvador. The company says its decision was necessary because El Salvador is losing the ability to ship goods duty-free into the European Union under a program called SGP Plus. Tuna from Calvo's El Salvador operations will now be subject to a 22% tariff, which prices Calvo out of the market. (Calvo primarily markets its tuna in Europe and Latin America). El Salvador is losing its duty free status in trade with the EU because it has failed to ratify the two key International Labor Organizati...

The US government announced in February that Temporary Protected Status or "TPS" will be extended for another 12 month period from September 9, 2006 until September 9, 2007. Salvadoran nationals are eligible for this status if they have been continually in the US since February 13, 2001, have committed no crimes and have registered during each preceding 12 month period. Persons registered under TPS are not subject to being deported back to El Salvador, even if their original arrival in the US was illegal. TPS includes work authorization from the federal government allowing TPS enrollees to be legally employed. The time period for registering for the extension begins Monday, July 3, and lasts for sixty days until September 1, 2006. The Salvadoran government has information in English and Spanish on its US embassy website , and will make a big push to get the 225,000 eligible Salvadorans in the US to re-enroll. The TPS program is justified as a humanitarian measure for cou...

Dozens of gay and lesbian protesters marched today in a Gay Pride March in San Salvador. The marchers demanded an end to discrimination and equal opportunities in employment and education. On the same day, El Salvador's Roman Catholic archbishop, Fernando Sáenz Lacalle, used his weekly press conference to urge the legislature to pass an amendment to El Salvador's constitution which would ban same sex marriages. For some background about GLBT issues in El Salvador, you may want to read this post by Meg about Entre Amigos, a group which sponsors the Gay Pride marches and works with the GLBT population in El Salvador, or this background article . UPDATE Shortly after I wrote this post, Meg updated her own blog with a post on Salvadoran Gay Pride , which provides much more insight.

There is only one subject that almost all Salvadoran bloggers have mentioned recently -- the World Cup. Although El Salvador had no team in Germany, that did not matter as blogging fans noted the start of the great world tournament. Ligia at Que Joder has perhaps the best post (es) as she describes the deserted streets when the games are on TV, the necessity of always knowing the score in case someone asks you, and the positive feelings of everyone united in watching the world's favorite sport. Similar feelings of fraternity are not generated by the newly inaugurated monument (es) to Roberto d'Aubuisson , founder of the ruling ARENA party. Following the Salvadoran civil war, the UN Truth Commission found d'Aubuisson to have been responsible for the 1980 murder of archbishop Oscar Romero. D'Aubuisson organized and directed deathsquads which killed thousands of civillians during the war years. The blogger Hunnapuh responds (es) to news of the monument with disdai...

A hydroelectric dam to be built on a river between Honduras and El Salvador raises the common tensions between large infrastructure projects and the disruption to the lives of local landowners. A story carried by the Inter Press Service describes the project and the controversy it creates: The construction of El Tigre dam on the Lempa River, which forms a border between Honduras and El Salvador, has unleashed a wave of contradictory opinions. Some claim there will be a loss of sovereignty over natural resources, while others say the resulting reservoir will prevent another war between the two countries, this time over water. The first efforts towards building this 1.5-billion dollar hydroelectric megadam, which would be 100 metres tall and flood 72 square kilometers, began three weeks ago. And border communities are demanding more information and greater participation in decisions on the project's scope. The idea to build the dam, which will have the potential to supply energy to...

The Salvadoran press reported today that the government may allow bus fares to rise to 30 cents from the current maximum of 25 cents on urban routes. The rising cost of diesel fuel, which is subsidized by the government for the bus lines, is forcing the fare increase. When bus companies acted unilaterally to raise fares last July, violent demonstrations broke out . Buses are the primary form of transportation for the poor in El Salvador, and a 20% increase in fares for persons who often make only a few dollars a day is a real hardship.